The Vault @ Milroys of Soho
3 Greek St
London
What is it - We have some incredible whisky bars and shops in Scotland, The Pot Still in Glasgow, Royal Mile Whiskies in Edinburgh and the Grill in Aberdeen to name but a few. However you don't have to come from Scotland or be based here to have a love for Scotch. Milroy’s of Soho was founded over fifty years ago by John ‘Jack’ Milroy in 1964. John had begun his career at the fa-mous Kettners Wine Shop. Jack wanted to go out on his own so opened his own shop in Soho. With his brother Wallace they created Milroys and started supply London with high quality spirits and wine from all over the world. Around this time single malt whisky was starting to raise its head after decades of Blended Scotch being the main export from Scotland. The brothers quickly saw the op-portunity and for the last 50 years Milroys has had the reputation for having one of the biggest and most diverse collections of single malt in the UK. The brother became iconic in the whisky industry and sold the business to another whisky legend Mark Reynier, who went onto reopen Bruichladdich distillery on Islay. Today the business is independently ran once again by Martyn Simpson (com-monly known as “Simo”) with the addition of The Vault bar which you enter through the back of the shop through a bookcase. This is where i spent most of my time on my visit.
Verdict - Milroy’s is an institution in the whisky industry and its a place i love to visit and the fact it has a secret bar in the back makes even more appealing. if you find yourself in London and craving a good Scotch then this is a must visit for anyone that has even a remote interest in our national spirit.
Drink - Milroy’s itself has an incredible collection of whisky from all over the world. Im sure they don't even know exactly how many they have but it is vast to say the least. For The Vault bar they have hand selected 120 whiskies from the shop that are perfect for sipping neat or being mixed in the cocktails they creat. Also keep your eye out for their own Milroy’s bottling they sell in the shop.
Interesting Fact - In October last year the award winning Panda & Sons bar in Edinburgh took over The Vault for London Cocktail week. The bar team for Panda developed an amazing cocktail list of whisky cocktails including The Rob Rose with Dewars whisky, Rose Vermouth, fresh lemon and honey.
Children - This place is just for the grown-ups and rightly so, you don't really want kids running about as you enjoy your dram.
Perfect for - Spending time with the knowledgable and passionate team in the shop guiding you to your perfect bottle before heading through the bookcase to sit back and hide away from the bus-tling Soho streets.
Avoid if - Even if whisky isn't your thing you can still have any spirit you desire. Probably the only reason you wont enjoy here if you prefer your bars with windows. I’d choose great whisky over windows any day of the week.
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